When evil people are free to flourish, sin is on the rise, but the just will surely see their destruction.

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Thursday, July 17th

Today's Daily Verse is found in Proverbs 29.16

"When the lawless are multiplied, transgression increases: But the righteous shall witness their fall ." - Authorized version

It was an increase not only in numbers, but in power, intensity and daring of sin...

A world gone wrong... giants

Genesis 6.1-6 "Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. 2 The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with
humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the
future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”

4 In
those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the
earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they
gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of
ancient times.

5 The Lord
observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that
everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

The Babel-builders...

Genesis 11.5-8 "But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!”
he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language.
After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”

8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city.

Sodom...

Genesis 18.20

Cities of the plain...

"So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant."

This is the other side to the coin, which states in Proverbs 29.2 "When the righteous are increased, the people rejoice: But when the lawless rule, the people mourn."

As much as men and women prefer sin to holiness as individuals, however, collectively they rejoice when the righteous are in power, and morn when evil is in high places of authority

Why?

Even the most vile amongst us enjoy the comfort of protection to their person and property when the righteous flourish

Combination emboldens in sin...the more parts, the merrier. As each particle or person is corrupt, the mass ferments itself with evil.

The crowd mentality takes off, and the mass are encouraged to do what individuals alone would never do...

That's why criminal activity is more intense in larger cities compared with small rural towns and villages.

Individually, the crimes are the same evil, but not the fermenting, or boiling that comes where masses gather together in great numbers to do evil.

"But the righteous shall witness their fall..."

Noah saw the destruction of the old world...

Genesis 7.23 "God wiped out every living
thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along
the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only
people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat."

Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea-shore...

Exodus 14.30 " That is how the Lord
rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians that day. And the
Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians washed up on the seashore."

Abraham saw the ruin of Sodom...

Genesis 19.28 "He looked out across the
plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose
from the cities like smoke from a furnace."

The more wicked men are - the shorter their reign...

And finally...

The finale..

Revelation 11.15 "Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:

“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

It's not over! Have a great day...

See you tomorrow...

In the meantime:

May I encourage you to call or email someone and invite them to join us in our daily study in Proverbs...